Living Life by Design

We are all designed as unique, original, and gifted human beings created in God’s image—as one of a kind. When you see yourself on those terms, that you are a work of art, you begin to understand you are qualified to reach your destiny in life. No one else can fulfill and achieve your destinies better than you can. In a world filled with 7,942,645,086 people, if we really understood how special each and every one of us is, we would celebrate ourselves and others with so much more intention, purpose, and even joy.

Life isn’t easy. I am not negating that fact, but living a full life requires absolutely everything you’ve got—determination, passion, love, commitment, desire, and an unbridled tenacity to finish what you started. I included love as one of the key ingredients as, over time, I have learned that even if you have everything else, if you don’t have a love for yourself and others, you don’t have much.

Photo by Romona Robbins

Curiosity, problem-solving, altruism, hope, and faith have been part of my DNA since childhood. I did not make myself like this; it’s just who I am. Along the road toward my Damascus, through maturing and naturally evolving, I have grown a deeper faith with each passing year that good things are always around the corner. At times, I’ve felt like my life was so surreal I was watching it as if it were a movie. I’ve had endless moments that I am so grateful to have experienced with others along the journey—it’s been filled with so much joy, even in times when there was so much sadness. That, too, is part of life. If I didn’t choose to follow my heart and my dreams, I would have missed out on so much. It has taken much courage and faith to walk on the water put before me, and I thank God that he equipped me with courage. I would never have accomplished anything without God as my constant companion, the author and finisher of my faith.

What does all this have to do with home, design, and living our best life? It’s to know that beauty in our surroundings is lovely, but we know that without happiness, friends, family, and community, there would be an emptiness in place of a rich life. So in this issue, we celebrate life by design—to live and walk out our own stories with a purpose and resolve to become all that we were made to be in this world.

It’s time for us to write our next chapter in our individual stories of life and seize this moment in time with gusto and excitement.

To Your Story!

—Lisa Marie

CEO/Editor-in-Chief

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